Attorney General

It is not routine to disclose correspondence between Ministers or Permanent Secretaries and any individual or organisation.

It is not possible to provide an estimate for hours spent preparing Ministers to respond to Westminster Hall Debates. There will be differences in the Civil Service, Special Adviser and Ministerial time depending on the policy matter and length of the debate. Debates can also be cross-cutting and require resources from multiple departments or engage departmental bodies.

The Attorney General’s Office has not spent any money on social media influencers since July 2024.

The guidelines for influencer and content creator marketing were created by the Government Communication Service and first published internally in November 2023.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) promotes awareness of diversity and inclusion through its Diversity and Inclusion Group and by highlighting relevant dates and initiatives throughout the year.

In 2025, AGO maintained a calendar of significant diversity and inclusion dates to support awareness and engagement across the department. As part of this, staff were invited to take part and contribute to monthly lunchtime sessions which focussed on any significant diversity and inclusion themes, including disability, religion, race, LGBTQ+, gender and wellbeing. In addition to this, the Attorney General hosted an event in April 2025 to celebrate Eid and AGO officials were invited to an event in December 2025 hosted by the CPS to celebrate Black History Month.

In 2025, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) recognised the following diversity and inclusion days: Holocaust Memorial Day (January), International Women’s Day (March), Social Mobility Day (June), World Prematurity Day (November) and International Days of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD). In 2026, CPS recognised the following diversity and inclusion weeks: Race Equality Week (February), Neurodiversity Celebration Week (March), World Autism Acceptance Week (April), Carers Week (June), National Inclusion Week (September) and Inter-faith Week (November).

In 2025, the Government Legal Department (GLD) recognised the following diversity and inclusion days: Holocaust Memorial Day (January), International Women's Day (March), Social Mobility Day (June), World Prematurity Day (November) and International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) (December). GLD recognised the following diversity and inclusion weeks: Race Equality Week (February), Carers Week (June), National Inclusion Week (September) and Inter-Faith Week (November). GLD recognised the following diversity and inclusion months: LGBT+ History Month (February), South Asian Heritage Month (July), Pride Month (July) and Black History Month (October).

In 2025, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) recognised the following diversity and inclusion days: International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersex-phobia and Transphobia (May), Social Mobility Awareness Day (June), London Pride Parade (July), World Mental Health Day (October), Stress Awareness Day (November), International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December) and Christmas (December). The SFO recognised the following diversity and inclusion weeks: Eid (June), Carer’s Awareness Week (June), Baby loss awareness week (October), Diwali (October) and Hanukkah (December). The SFO recognised the following diversity and inclusion months: Pride Month (June), South Asian Heritage month (July), Black History Month (October), Men’s health awareness month (November), and Islamophobia awareness month (November).

HMCPSI marked International Women’s Day on LinkedIn, World Mental Health Day with an intranet post and Black History month with an intranet post.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) did not incur any facility time costs in (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26. The department had no staff recorded as facility time representatives during those years and no staff spent 100% of their working time on facility time. The AGO did not provide funding for trade union activities during the periods in scope.

The Crown Prosecution Service do not have any representatives on 100% facility time and no funding has been provided for union activities in any of those years. The headcount number of facility time staff (a) 2023 – 24 was 74, (b) 2024-25 was 67 and (c) 2025-26 was 65. The total cost of facility time (a) 2023 – 24 was £347,237.00, (b) 2024-25 was £350,100.13 and (c) 2025 – 26 was £320,987.25.

For the Government Legal Department, the (a) 23-24 the headcount of reps was 31, the total cost was £114,000 and none of them were on 100% facility time, (b) 24-25 the headcount was 33, the total cost was £87,000 and none of them were on 100% facility time and for (c) no data was recorded.We have interpreted ‘funding’ for trade union activities as paid trade union facility time for activities. No funding was paid for TU activities in those years.

For the Serious Fraud Office, in (a) 2023-24 the total cost of facilities time was £5617, the headcount was 9, (b) 2024-25 the total cost of facilities time was £22,418, the headcount was 9, (c) the total cost of facilities time was £9908 and the headcount was 9. For all years no staff were on 100% facility time and no funding was provided for trade union activities in each of those years.

For HMCPSI, this question is not applicable.

Information is released in regular transparency returns by the Department.

Without targeted campaigns, millions of citizens would miss out on services, rights, and support to which they are entitled.

It has been the practice of successive governments not to comment, on grounds of both national security and staff safety, on the physical capacity or staffing numbers for individual buildings of the government estate.

Securing our borders and tackling the exploitative criminal gangs that are illegally smuggling migrants to our shores is a core priority for this Government.

The government is taking bold action to tackle the unscrupulous criminal gangs who put vulnerable lives at risk for profit, with a number of new offences introduced under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act (2025). This includes the offence to criminalise the creation of material advertising unlawful immigration services online, as well as the endangerment offence and seizure of electronic devices

With offences having commenced in January, the CPS now has further tools with which to prosecute organised immigration crime and people smugglers. Since the law change the CPS has charged more than 30 migrants with endangerment

In June we saw the first sentences for endangering lives during a channel crossing. The two defendants were jailed for two years and two years and three months respectively.

The SFO investigates a small number of the most serious and complex cases of suspected fraud, bribery and corruption, often involving thousands of victims, multiple jurisdictions and international corporates.

Waste crime does not fall within this remit and therefore is not considered by the Attorney General’s Office in the course of superintending and sponsoring the work of the SFO.

These cases are typically investigated and prosecuted by the Environment Agency, sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

This Government is committed to halving knife crime in the next decade through the Halving Knife Crime Plan.

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 has introduced measures to tackle knife crime including a new possession an offence, an increase in the maximum penalty from six months to two years imprisonment for some offences and new powers which enable the police to seize, retain and destroy dangerous knives.

Following a significant rise in knife-enabled robbery in the year to June 2024 across seven police forces, the Home Secretary established a dedicated police taskforce in October 2024. Taskforce data for the year ending March 2026 shows a 21% drop in KER offences.

The CPS is supporting the work of the taskforce and continues to improve joint working with the police. This includes ensuring the police are aware of the correct protocol for seeking Early Advice in complex knife crime cases and seeking earlier engagement with prosecutors to improve both timeliness and file quality.

The CPS Counter Terrorism Division (CTD) is a specialist unit responsible for advising upon, and prosecuting some of the most sensitive, serious and high-profile casework in the CPS, including cases involving state threat activity.

The Counter Terrorism Division prosecuted six cases involving state threat activity under Official Secrets Act legislation between 2019 – 2025 and has separately concluded four prosecutions relating to state threat activity under the National Security Act since it came into force in 2023.

Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutors make their decisions independently of the police, the government and other external parties. Their duty is to apply the criminal law of England & Wales as agreed by Parliament, to ensure the right person is prosecuted for the right offence and to bring offenders to justice wherever possible.

On 9 March 2026 the UK Government adopted its non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility across all central government departments. The CPS is a non-ministerial department, and CPS employees are civil servants and subject to the same central rules and policies. They may have regard to the definition, alongside other sources of information, in understanding the experience of Muslim communities in this country.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has no live industrial disputes. Accordingly, there is no industrial action being taken within the department.

The CPS’s focus on tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is driving an increase in charges across a range of offences, including rape and domestic abuse-flagged offences.

The CPS's Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy for 2025-2030 aims to ensure that prosecutors have the right skills and tools to prosecute VAWG offences effectively. It sets out the approach the CPS is taking to improve casework quality, increase public confidence, and support the Government’s ambition to halve violence against women and girls.

To improve the prosecution of rape and serious sexual offences, the CPS has delivered significant reforms, including the introduction of a National Operating Model for adult rape prosecution, strengthened joint working and governance with policing, updated prosecution guidance, and a Rape Action Plan focused on improving case quality and prosecutor capability.

The CPS has also introduced enhanced assurance activity through the Rape Case Strategy Improvement Programme to support high-quality and consistent legal decision-making. These measures are contributing to improved outcomes, with 3,754 suspects charged in adult rape-flagged cases in 2025 (the highest number since records began), alongside the highest ever volume of completed adult rape prosecutions.

Tackling VAWG demands coordinated action across government. The CPS works closely with policing and other criminal justice partners to strengthen the collective response to these offences and ensure that victims are protected. In collaboration with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and third sector partners, the CPS developed a national Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan (DA JJP) to strengthen the collective response to domestic abuse. Since the DA JJP launch in Q3 2024-25, referral volumes of DA flagged offences have seen quarter-on-quarter increases and the charge rate has remained above 80%.

Together with the Home Office and the NPCC, the CPS has hosted two national multi-agency ‘honour’-based abuse conferences and will host a further multi-agency conference on stalking on 10 September. These events bring together colleagues from across government, statutory partners, specialist organisations and those with lived experience to develop our understanding of and response to VAWG offending.

Joint protocols between the police and CPS help to establish a clear, shared understanding for police and prosecutors of how to recognise and respond to VAWG offending. The joint protocols on stalking, ‘honour’-based abuse and female genital mutilation (FGM) are being updated, to ensure they support the collective response to the evolving nature of these offences.

Effective training helps to ensure prosecutors are fully equipped to identify, charge and progress cases effectively, and refreshed training on strangulation or suffocation and ‘honour’-based abuse is currently in development. The CPS also recognises the growing role that technology plays in facilitating and amplifying VAWG offending, and a dedicated Technology-Facilitated VAWG Action Plan is being developed to strengthen the CPS response to this evolving form of offending (with publication expected by the end of the year).

As set out in the Guide to Making Legislation, where a department proposes to include a provision that would be retrospective (whether formally retrospective or with retrospective effect), they must first seek the consent of the Law Officers.

Each case is considered by the Law Officers on its facts. In order to grant consent, the Law Officers need to be convinced that the general public interest in the law not being changed retrospectively is outweighed by the public interest of legislating retrospectively in that particular case.

There are currently no specific criminal offences of engaging in conduct intended to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or transgender identity and the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) Case Management System (CMS) does not have a flag or any other means to identify cases which involve this type of conduct. For these reasons, the CPS does not hold any central record of such cases referred for a charging decision or early advice. It follows, that if we do not hold a central record of such cases referred to CPS, we do not know how many may have resulted in charges, prosecutions, or convictions.

The introduction of controlling or coercive behaviour as a criminal offence in 2015 marked a fundamental shift in the criminal justice response to abuse, from focusing on individual incidents to recognising patterns of behaviour that entrench control, isolate victims and inflict serious psychological harm.

Controlling or coercive behaviour cases often involve complex patterns of abuse that can be difficult to evidence, especially when victims are traumatised or unable to speak out.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) continues to take action to improve outcomes in these cases, with the number of domestic abuse flagged controlling or coercive behaviour offences charged and reaching a first hearing in the magistrates' court increasing year on year, rising from 763 in 2017 to 6,510 in 2025.

CPS guidance makes clear that prosecutors should actively identify and consider controlling or coercive behaviour offences, recognising the cumulative impact of abusive conduct. Prosecutors are encouraged to charge controlling or coercive behaviour alongside individual incidents where appropriate, ensuring that the full extent of the alleged offending is placed before the court.

The Attorney General’s Guidance on Legal Risk is regularly reviewed upon the appointment of the Attorney General. The Attorney General is reviewing the current version of the guidance. If she chooses to make any changes, they will be published in the usual way.

Ministers in AGO have had 60 MP surgeries from July 2024 – July 2026 inclusive.

The number of agency staff employed by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) in each of the last five years is shown in the table below.

Yes, The Attorney General’s Office has appointed a number of candidates who were external to the Civil Service into roles. This includes candidates who applied through standard recruitment campaigns on Civil Service Jobs and were successful after open and fair competition, as well as those who have joined on secondment and fixed term appointment.

The CPS holds information on the sentences imposed following convictions in cases included in the Joint Enterprise National Monitoring Scheme 2024–25. As the CPS is not the official record of sentencing the information requested could only be obtained through the manual inspection of individual case files and could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The CPS holds information on the sentences imposed following convictions in cases included in the Joint Enterprise National Monitoring Scheme 2024–25. However, the information requested could only be obtained through the manual inspection of individual case files and could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The Law Officers’ Convention applies to advice which may or may not have been given by the Law Officers, or requested of the Law Officers, and the Convention applies to your question.

The Law Officers’ Convention can be found at paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May:

“By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”

HMT’s publication of the 2026-27 financial reporting manual makes clear that a select group of smaller departments and independent bodies – which includes the Law Officers Departments - are exempt from the requirement to report efficiencies to HM Treasury in line with the Government Efficiency Framework. There are therefore no efficiency reports from the HMCPSI to HM Treasury, but the Law Officer Departments are all working towards their commitment at Spending Review 2025 to deliver at least 5% savings and efficiencies over Phase 2 of the SR period.

Section 26(2) does not create an offence relating to the purchase or acquisition of firearms using a false certificate. The offence most closely associated with such conduct is section 3(5) of the Firearms Act (FA) 1968, where it is an offence to produce a false certificate with the view of purchasing or acquiring any firearm or ammunition. Depending on the facts of the case, however, the CPS may charge these cases as a possession offence under section 1 or section 5 FA 1968. There may also be other offences considered depending on what the individual who purchases the firearms does with it.

The CPS holds management information which shows the number of offences charged by way of Section 3(5), Section 1 and Section 5 FA 1968 in which a prosecution commenced. The table below shows the number of offences charged by Act and Section in which a prosecution commenced between 2006 and 2025. The CPS is unable to differentiate whether the offences charged under section 1 or section 5 FA 1968 involved the individual using a false certificate; therefore, the information in the table below is for all offences charged under those sections of the FA 1968.

The figures relate to the number of offences and not the number of individual defendants prosecuted. It can be the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence against the same complainant. No data is held showing the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at finalisation.

The CPS does not hold management information on convictions by Act and Section and is therefore unable to provide the requested conviction figures.

The criticisms of misinformation on X are numerous and well-documented.

The CPS considers every case referred to it by investigators and will prosecute where the evidential and public interest tests set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors are met.

The Solicitor General supports the CPS in tackling serious financial crime across all sectors, including where offending occurs in the waste sector. This includes supporting cross-government economic crime reforms and investment in economic crime and asset recovery capability, helping the CPS and its law enforcement partners to prosecute offenders and recover criminal assets.

The Attorney General’s Office provides staff with access to a range of artificial intelligence (AI) learning and development resources.

These include the Civil Service Learning “AI for All” programme, AI-Understanding Ethics, AI Generative AI Tools and Applications, The business value of AI and Microsoft Copilot training and guidance.

a) Information on the total number of hours of AI training undertaken by staff is not held centrally. A range of AI learning opportunities are available to staff, with individual courses varying in duration.

b) The topics and skills covered by such training are:

• AI fundamentals and how AI is transforming the Civil Service and public service delivery.
• Practical AI skills and the effective use of AI in day‑to‑day work.
• Responsible and safe use of AI tools.
• AI ethics, including the risks and considerations associated with AI adoption.
• Generative AI tools and applications.
• The strategic and business value of AI, including governance, security, bias and data considerations.
• Microsoft Copilot skills, including prompt writing, use of AI assistants and agents, and safe use within government systems.

The Department also provides access to additional AI learning resources through LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft Copilot Academy and other approved learning platforms.

This Government inherited a justice system in crisis, with a backlog of eighty thousand criminal cases in the Crown court.

That is why we are investing over two and a half billion pounds in our courts. This will fund unlimited sitting days, boost legal aid, and ultimately speed up justice for victims.

This Government inherited a justice system in crisis, with a backlog of eighty thousand criminal cases in the Crown court.

That is why we are investing over two and a half billion pounds in our courts. This will fund unlimited sitting days, boost legal aid, and ultimately speed up justice for victims.

The Attorney General Office’s official account is no longer posting on X. The decision was taken to focus on other communication platforms that I believe are more conducive to public debate, and don’t prioritise misinformation. I understand and respect colleagues who remain on the platform.

Serious economic crime is a growing threat. Last month, the CPS published their Serious Economic and Organised Crime Strategy, which sets out their continued commitment to effectively prosecute these cases amidst the evolving nature and complexity of these crimes.

Ensuring crime does not pay is a core objective. Through asset recovery and financial disruption, the CPS is targeting the profits that drive serious economic and organised crime, depriving offenders of criminal benefit and helping secure compensation for victims.

I will continue to work with the CPS to ensure they deliver justice for victims and hold those who commit serious economic crime to account.

The Attorney General Office’s official account is no longer posting on X. The decision was taken by the Attorney General to focus on other communication platforms that he believes are more conducive to public debate, and don’t prioritise misinformation. The Attorney understands and respects colleagues who remain on the platform.

13 individuals were charged in relation to the Libor investigation. 5 were subsequently found guilty and convicted. The release of the information on investigations concluded without charges would be likely to prejudice the prevention of crime.

SFO case records are retained in line with its retention policy. This specifies that case related material should be maintained for at least 7 years following case closure, or the closure of any related appeals. Some material may be held for up to 20 years if it were subsequently deemed as being of long-term interest, before being transferred to the National Archives.

The SFO’s investigations into Libor were conducted in line with accepted principles for investigating criminal cases. SFO case teams have access to detailed internal guidance to ensure a consistency of approach on its cases and decisions to charge are the responsibility of the Director in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

The judgement made in Tom Hayes’ and Carlo Palombo’s appeal to the Supreme Court regarding their convictions for manipulating Libor and Euribor was not based on flaws in the SFO’s procedures and the need for internal guidance, but that the directions given by the judge at their trials were incorrect in law. The court ruled that trial judges had misdirected juries by treating the question of whether a bank submission is "dishonest" as a matter of law, rather than leaving it to the jury.

The defences contention was that was that this removed from the jury an essential consideration of fact which ought to have been for them to determine. In quashing the convictions, the Supreme Court has indicated agreement with that view.

The SFO was not criticised in the judgment and carefully considers judgments of this nature, as part of its ongoing commitment to delivering effective and fair prosecutions

The judgement made in Tom Hayes’ and Carlo Palombo’s appeal to the Supreme Court regarding their convictions for manipulating Libor and Euribor was not based on flaws in the SFO’s procedures, but that the directions given by the judge at their trials were incorrect in law. The court ruled that trial judges had misdirected juries by treating the question of whether a bank submission is "dishonest" as a matter of law, rather than leaving it to the jury.

The defence’s contention was that was that this removed from the jury an essential consideration of fact which ought to have been for them to determine. In quashing the convictions, the Supreme Court has indicated agreement with that view.

The SFO was not criticised in the judgment and carefully considers judgments of this nature, as part of its ongoing commitment to delivering effective and fair prosecutions.

The Serious Fraud Office is an independent prosecuting authority. Its operational decisions, including whether to investigate or prosecute individuals, are the responsibility of the Director in accordance with the law. Where appropriate, the Law Officers will engage with the SFO at a strategic level to support effective delivery of its functions.

The SFO operates within a well-established governance framework, including accountability through the Attorney General’s superintendence functions and the appointment of Non-Executive Directors as set out in their Framework Agreement. Governance arrangements are kept under review in line with good practice, with the Framework Agreement being reviewed and updated in 2024.

We have taken ‘political appointees’ to mean special advisers. A list of special advisers by department is published each year in the Annual Report on Special Advisers which is laid in parliament. The Annual Report on Special Advisers 2026 will be published in due course.

The AI tool identifies solely the reporting and consultation duties, it does not specify whether they are ‘disproportionate’ or not. The policy development around this is ongoing; decisions on proportionality remain the purview of ministers.